$50 million donation, maintenance pact to boost Greenways project

The transfor-mation of the city's Buffalo Bayou Park is underway in partnership with a non-profit group. The city is considering
a similar
arrangement
with the Houston Parks Board for the
Greenways initiative. less

The transfor-mation of the city's Buffalo Bayou Park is underway in partnership with a non-profit group. The city is considering
a similar
arrangement
with the Houston Parks Board for the
Greenways ... more

Photo: Cody Duty, Staff

Image 2 of 7

Danny Romero with Millis Development and Construction walks along Buffalo Bayou Park as they work to transform it, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Houston. The Buffalo Bayou Partnership has joined with the City of Houston through the Houston Parks and Recreation Department and the Harris County Flood Control District to transform the 160-acre park. less

Danny Romero with Millis Development and Construction walks along Buffalo Bayou Park as they work to transform it, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Houston. The Buffalo Bayou Partnership has joined with the City of ... more

Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Image 3 of 7

A construction crewman gets out of an excavator after working to transform Buffalo Bayou Park, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Houston.

A construction crewman gets out of an excavator after working to transform Buffalo Bayou Park, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Image 4 of 7

A jogger makes his way down a paved trail as a construction crew works to transform Buffalo Bayou Park, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Houston.

A jogger makes his way down a paved trail as a construction crew works to transform Buffalo Bayou Park, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Houston.

Construction crew members walk along Buffalo Bayou Park as they work to transform it, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Houston.

Construction crew members walk along Buffalo Bayou Park as they work to transform it, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Image 7 of 7

A construction fence is seen as a construction crew works to transform Buffalo Bayou Park, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Houston.

A construction fence is seen as a construction crew works to transform Buffalo Bayou Park, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

$50 million donation, maintenance pact to boost Greenways project

1 / 7

Back to Gallery

The Kinder Foundation is poised to donate $50 million to the Bayou Greenways 2020 initiative to connect Houston parks and double the length of the city's public trails, but there's a catch. The City Council first must turn over maintenance of the park lands to a nonprofit because of concerns that the city will not adequately maintain the newly developed properties.

The council is expected to approve the agreement partnering the city with the nonprofit Houston Parks Board, which would manage the maintenance of bayou trails with public funds.

The move is, in part, intended to dispel concerns from private donors who worry whether the city will have enough revenue and political support for the proper upkeep of the signature trail system once it is completed.

Related

"This will go through City Council, but we wanted to put a mechanism in place where it is not easy to say, 'Well, we're going to cut that budget,' " said Roksan Okan-Vick, executive director of the parks board.

The Bayou Greenways 2020 initiative is at the heart of a $166 million parks issue approved by voters in November. About two-thirds of the bond funds are dedicated as the city's match to private donations collected for the ambitious Bayou Greenways initiative to develop lands along the city's bayous and connect them via a vast expansion of city trails.

Those bond funds will cover only the initial costs to acquire land and create trails. The agreement before the City Council is designed to sustain them in future decades.

Translator

To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.

On March 6, Texas voters will decide who will carry the Democratic party's mantle into the battle for governor and a slew of other statewide offices. Click here for full coverage of the primary elections. Find our voters guide here.

"Maintenance has become front and center to a lot of our private fundraising efforts," Okan-Vick said. "You can't just do something and let it just deteriorate."

Approval of the agreement also will clear the way for the board to begin negotiating acceptance of a $50 million donation from the Kinder Foundation, more than doubling the $21 million collected to date for initial costs.

Nancy Kinder, co-founder and president of the Kinder Foundation, called the greenways project "brilliant" and a perfect match for the organization's goal to improve Houston's green spaces.

"We want to be at the table. We want to be helpful partners," Kinder said, noting similar roles in the creation of Discovery Green and the Buffalo Bayou Partnership.

Mayor Annise Parker acknowledged the concerns of potential donors who note the city historically has made big investments without planning how to fund upkeep. "The issue is one of my pet peeves," she said. "I want to break that habit."

Supporters of the greenways project say the agreement before the council will provide assurance to taxpayers and donors that future city leaders cannot undercut their vision by simply moving or slashing city maintenance funds.

"Parks departments have tended to bear the brunt of tough times," said Andy Icken, Houston's chief development officer. "This creates a dedicated fund that is more resilient."

The legal agreement is structured differently from the Buffalo Bayou or Discovery Green projects, but the practical effects are similar.

Under the proposed arrangement, the city agrees to pay the park board up to $10 million a year for maintenance. Although the nonprofit likely will hire private companies and Harris County Flood Control to do some work, the city parks department would be the preferred contractor for the bulk of it, essentially bringing much of the funding back to city coffers.

Additionally, the agreement includes an annual 20 percent contingency fund the board can use for capital improvement projects, such as installing new lights or replacing aging trails, or for disaster recovery after flooding or hurricanes. The board would be required to present an annual report to the City Council on its plans and return any contingency money not spent within the year, Icken said.

If everything goes to plan, the city eventually will make money off the deal. An in-house analysis found that by 2020, when the trails are projected to be complete, the city would be collecting $20 million to $30 million more in property tax revenue than it is today because the improved bayous are expected to raise nearby property values faster.